


The Scent of Gasoline and Her

by taylor_renae



Series: 50 Pavel/Joanna AU's [6]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Gas Station AU, based on a prompt, in-between the lines smut at the end, yeah i know just bear with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-21
Updated: 2014-10-21
Packaged: 2018-02-22 02:39:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2491397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_renae/pseuds/taylor_renae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the middle of a thunderstorm, Pavel's car runs out of gas outside San Francisco, luckily, not too far from a gas station. Joanna is the only one on shift, and he waits with her until she finishes her shift. When it's time to leave, Pavel and Joanna fill up the car together and he drives her home. After that evening, Pavel goes through rather drastic measures to see Joanna.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Scent of Gasoline and Her

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely based on this: http://auideas.tumblr.com/post/72005678663/bakery-au

Pavel could hardly see the road beyond his windshield. He only hoped he was on the right road, he had not only never been to this side of town before, but he hadn't seen another car for ages. He could see no signs nor distant lights of the city, the rain preventing him from taking in any hints of where he might be. Glancing at his indicators, he winced and eased up on the gas. He'd have to fill up, and fast, but he was fairly sure he had no idea where he was or where the nearest fill-up station was.

Sure enough, his car sputtered and slowed to a stop, Pavel groaning in frustration as he pulled to the side of the road. He tried to see out his window for any hint of light besides that of his own headlights, but with no prevail. Letting out a sigh and zipping his jacket up all the way, he turned the car off and stepped out into the rain, beginning his long walk down the road. The rain was coming down so hard that in a matter minutes he was soaked to the bone, his already soggy hood just barely keeping the rain out of his eyes, water sopping through the fabric and drenching his curly light hair.

After nearly falling three times in the puddle-ridden road, Pavel had taken to staring at the ground as he walked along. His usually cheery demeanor had been crushed under the weight of this terrible storm along with his own bad luck, so he resorted to unhappy grumbling.

He had been so immersed in cursing the sky that he hadn't realized how close he was to a gas station until he nearly tripped over the yellow-painted curb that highlighted the pull out area. His head snapping up, he sighed in relief at the sight of the gas station's lights inside. It wasn't closed, nor was it too far away from where his car had stopped.

He jogged across the rain-soaked lot of the station to the door, yanking it open and stepping inside. Stopping on the black mat on the floor, he flipped his hood off and breathed a pleased sigh at the warmth that met him.

Pavel's head shot up when he heard a small noise, much like a delicate throat being cleared and his eyes met the young woman behind the counter.

Pavel blinked in surprise. "Oh, sorry. Hello ma'am, I did not see you there."

The little lady smiled in return, "That's alright, sir. Can I do anything for you?"

Pavel stepped up to the counter, placing his frozen hands on top of it, "Uh, yes. My car ran out of gas about half a mile back. Sorry about all the wet," he gestured to the puddles he had left in his wake, "I will be out of your way as soon as I get some gas."

"It's pourin' rain out there, doll. My Momma'd smack me upside the head if she let me send you outside in this storm." the counter girl said, Pavel blinking at her rather charming accent and silently cursing himself for his own, "If you don't need to be anywhere fast, you're welcome to stay here."

"No, no I don't have to be anywhere soon; I would love to stay here. Nice and dry," he responded after a moment. It would give him more time to admire her blue-green eyes.

The girl gave him a bright smile, "Great. I'll get you a chair and a blanket from the back." she turned around and went into the room behind her, coming back out after a moment with two fold-up chairs and a dark blue blanket under her arm. She handed him the blanket over the counter and set up the two chairs behind the desk facing each other. She sat down in one of them and unzipped her boots.

Pavel hesitated for another moment before slowly walking around the counter and sitting down in the seat across from her, wincing at the quiet squidging noise his rear made as he sat down in his wet clothes. He was expecting her to bring him a chair so he could sit by the door and leak on the mat, not behind the desk with this very attractive girl.

"You'd probably dry out faster if you'd take off your top layer," the girl suggested, straightening herself up and lifting her foot to pull off the four-incher, "Sorry, I hope you don't mind. I've been wearing these and standing up all day. They're nothing like cowboy boots back home." she said, sighing softly in relief once they were off.

"No problem. I just hope you don't mind my wet clothes just lying around." he responded, taking off his hoodie and top shirt, leaving his slightly less wet undershirt on and pulling the blanket over his shoulders, "That accent of yours, you are from the South, yes?"

"Yep, Georgia, born and raised." She smiled over at him, "I'm Joanna. Most just call me Jo. Are you Russian?"

Pavel felt a slight blush cross his cheeks, recognizing he really shouldn't have asked where her accent was from when he had a much thicker one of his own, "Ah, yes, my apologies. I am Russian. My name's Pavel."

"No need to apologize, Pavel. That was a bit rude of me," Joanna responded, her eyes lowering.

"It wasn't," he assured her, grinning shyly. "How long are you here for?"

"Until 10, when we close. I know that's a bit early, but it's Sunday. I've got another hour and a half. Until then, I'm all yours, 'cause I reckon nobody but you is crazy enough to be out in this storm." she smirked back at him, giving his wet knee a little poke with her bare toe. He smirked back at her.

"I was just trying to get to the city. I haven’t been here very long and I still don't know my way around too well." he confessed sheepishly.

"I haven't been here too long myself. I get lost all the time no matter where I am, so I'm just as guilty as you are. I just don't pay attention to street signs like I should. I take the bus here every day believe it or not." Joanna confessed.

"Is it a long bus ride from your place to here?" Pavel asked, scotching forward subtly.

"Not too long, maybe thirty minutes with all the stops," she crossed her leg over her knee. Pavel tried not to notice how her skin was a bit tan, but not too much so, like she had gotten back from a weekend at the beach and she had gotten the perfect amount of sunshine. "It's okay, nothing like the long rides on the school bus back in Georgia when I lived in the middle of the country with my Daddy and Gramma. But people were a lot more polite there, to be fair."

The Russian nodded his head in understanding, "Aye, San Francisco is lovely and all, but the residents could learn some manners."

Joanna's laugh rang out like a sentient bell, "No kidding."

The pair talked on and on through the storm, exchanging stories about their experiences in California, about their old lives in the home they had left, their school lives, their home lives and how expensive their rents were.

Pavel couldn't remember the last time he had talked to someone like this, and it made him smile so hard his face hurt. But his face fell when Joanna looked to the clock on the wall and exclaimed, "Oh! It's 10:30!"

"Oh," Pavel echoed, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to keep you this long. Do you need help closing up?"

"Don't worry about it, I really just have to turn off the lights and lock up." She said and folded up her chair and brought it into the back room. Pavel did the same and followed her in, folding the blanket-now dried out and handing it to her to put it back. When they entered the store again, Pavel paused as Joanna turned the lights off, leaving the station black save for the lights in the fridge units.

"Would you like a ride home?" Pavel asked as Joanna zipped up her boots. She glanced up at his face for a moment, perhaps wondering if she could trust him in that action, as if they hadn't just been talking for an hour and a half.

She straightened and nodded, smiling softly, "Yeah, okay. Yeah, that'd be great, thanks."

He smiled back at her and held out his arm. She pulled on her coat and grabbed her umbrella before took it and he walked her out. It was still raining, but not as heavily as it was before and the wind had died down. They filled the gas can before heading out. They walked down the wet main road beneath Joanna's umbrella, arm in arm and huddled together against the chill until they reached Pavel's car and filled the tank up. Pavel's car only sputtered a little bit before starting up and Joanna gave him directions to her house. Unsurprisingly, there were no other cars on the road and they reached their destination in little time.

Pavel put the car in park out front of the apartment building and they sat in comfortable silence for a moment, "Uh, don't get the wrong idea or anything by this, but would you like to come in for coffee?" Joanna asked.

Pavel frowned a bit, "I would love to, and no I'm not getting the wrong idea, but I have to be up early for a job interview in the morning." he said honestly. He couldn't reschedule if he wanted the job, which he desperately needed, "Maybe another time?" he asked hopefully.

Joanna smiled softly and nodded in return, "Another time," she agreed, leaning over the seats and giving Pavel a peck on the cheek in thanks--making his ears burn and a smile slide across his lips. She opened her door and opened her umbrella as she got out without another word, a smile planted on her face, as well. She jogged gracefully to the front door of the complex, waving goodbye to him as she took her umbrella down and entering the building.

Pavel started up the car, still smiling to himself. He pulled out and left the parking lot heading for home. He was halfway down the main road before he nearly slammed on his brakes when he realized he never got Joanna's number. He groaned to himself but made a mental marker on the location of her workplace. He would go in and ask her for it next time he passed by for gas on that side of town. He reached home ten minutes later with the scent of gasoline and her still lingering on his jacket.

-~-

It was another five days before Pavel could go back to the gas station. He had the afternoon off and needed some gas anyway, so he thought it was the perfect opportunity to go and speak to Joanna again, perhaps even propose a date.

He drove the extra two miles to the station, parking his car and jogging into the store. His soft greeting smile faded and was replaced by a look of confusion as he stared at the man behind the counter. He stared back.

"Can I help you, sir?" he asked, his tone a bit annoyed and confused. Pavel, flustered, stepped forward.

"Yes, I met a young woman in here five nights ago; Joanna? She's about my age, has light brown hair, blue-green eyes-"

"Oh, you mean Jo," the man provided, giving him a slightly sly smirk, "Yeah, she's something, huh? Must be to you since you know what color her eyes are."

Pavel blushed and tried not to show his indignation, "Is she here?"

"Nah, she doesn't work today. I think she's at home. She works tomorrow night, though," he nonchalantly offered. Pavel heaved a small sigh and turned to leave, "Thank you, sir."

"No problem." the man at the desk replied with a half wave, "Tell her Jim said hi, would ya?"

"What?"

"I said 'tell her Jim said hi' for me, please." Jim said, not looking up at him.

"When? What are you talking about?" Pavel snapped, beginning to feel aggravated.

"When you go see her today," Jim still didn't look up at him, but a smirk sat on his lips, as if waiting for Pavel to get a hint. He did about three seconds later.

"Thank you!" he tossed over his shoulder as he ran out of the store and back into his car, not even bothering to fill up his gas tank.

-~-

Pavel remembered the way to Joanna's apartment building almost perfectly. He was so proud that he only had to make two u-turns that he didn't remember he didn't know what apartment she lived in until he had parked in a guest parking spot outside of the building.

He groaned for what seemed to be the hundredth time that week and rested his head on the steering wheel. He'd have to ask around for help. Damn. He was sure that would put him on the neighbor's radar. But it'd be worth it if he came back with Joanna's number.

Pavel dragged his sorry rear end out of the car and began the trek to Joanna's apartment. The building didn't have a doorbell com system outside of it so he'd have to go to the doors instead. He was pretty sure Joanna didn't go through any of the doors on the first floor, so he took the chance with the apartments on the upper levels. Thankfully there was no more than three stories on this building and Pavel had only two to search through.

He went through 5 doors before someone knew who he was talking about when he described Joanna. It was a beautiful little blonde woman on her way out to go to work, "Oh the little McCoy girl? Yeah she lives somewhere upstairs, but I don't know the apartment number."

Pavel nodded fervently and thanked her as he quickly ascended the stairs, doing his best to look casual. He asked three more doors, two of which knew who he was asking for but not which apartment she lived in. He was leaving the door of yet another patron who was definitely not Joanna when his loose shoelace caught onto a loose nail, resulting in him tripping and hitting his face on the wall on the other side of the hall from where he was.

He heaved a sigh and stiffly repositioned himself to retie his shoe. There was a faint sound of footsteps from somewhere beyond the wall he was leaning up against when the door not two feet in front of him opened. He didn't look up as he finished with his shoe, "I'm sorry, I just tripped. I'm looking for-"

"Pavel?" the boy's head snapped up at the sound of her voice. He sprang up and immediately shrank down as if he'd hit his head and clutched at his side, grimacing.

"Joanna!"

"Are you okay? What do you mean you tripped? There's nothing to trip on," Joanna gestured to the empty hallway behind him.

Pavel blushed deep red, "There was a nail sticking out, I-it doesn't matter,"

"What are you doing here?" she asked, suddenly finding the point.

"I-uh," he spluttered, "I was looking for you. I don't want to seem blunt, but then again I just searched through half your apartment building to find you, so this isn't completely without preamble. Does your offer for just coffee still stand?"

Joanna stared at him for such a long moment he was about to perform the walk of shame back to his car. But then she laughed, loud, long and rich, "Yeah," she said, catching her breath, "yeah, it does Pavel. Come on in."

He beamed a smile at her and followed her into her apartment. Their laughter must have bothered Joanna's neighbors, for she told him she got anonymous complaints the next time he came over. They agreed that from now on he would take her to his house their next few dates in which they could laugh as loud as they pleased. Two months later their freedom to be loud began paying off in other ways, but that's something they liked to keep secret.


End file.
